


Tea and Sympathy

by speccygeekgrrl



Category: White Collar (TV 2009)
Genre: Caretaking, Multi, Rain, Sleepovers, Tea, Wet Clothing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:35:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27970934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/speccygeekgrrl/pseuds/speccygeekgrrl
Summary: Neal shows up on the Burkes' doorstep in a sorrier state than usual. Even though they didn't expect him tonight, there's a plan in place for whenever this inevitability occurred.
Relationships: Elizabeth Burke/Peter Burke/Neal Caffrey
Comments: 3
Kudos: 57





	Tea and Sympathy

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt "Those clothes, they're soaking wet. They'll have to come off."

"What on earth happened to you?" Elizabeth gasped when she opened the door on a stormy night to find a drenched and shivering Neal on the porch. 

"I... have had a really bad day," Neal said faintly. She pulled him in without another word, closing and locking the door behind him before she reached up to touch his cheek.

"Who is it?" Peter called down the stairs.

"Who do you _think_ it is?" El called back up them, and a moment later he came to the top of the stairwell to peer down.

"Neal! What _happened_?" Peter came down and plucked gently at the sopping wet cloth of Neal's suit jacket. "These clothes, they're soaking wet. They'll have to come off."

"Go get a robe and a towel for him," El ordered, and gently removed the jacket, folding it over the bannister. Neal just stood there shivering as she unbuttoned his shirt and eased it off his shoulders. Peter came back with a towel that he tossed over Neal's dripping hair, and his own worn-soft terrycloth robe that he slid onto Neal as soon as his undershirt came off. For a second the Burkes just held Neal between them, El's softness and warmth in front, Peter's strength and concern behind.

Once the last of the wet clothes were removed, Peter chivvied Neal over to the couch and El went to start a kettle going before sitting on Neal's other side. "What happened, Neal?" Peter asked, as gently as he could.

"I don't..." Neal shivered again and seemed to collapse in on himself. "I made June angry," he whispered. 

"Angry enough to kick you out? June _adores_ you," El said, eyes wide.

"I don't think she meant 'leave forever' but she definitely meant 'leave now'," Neal said, and rubbed the edge of Peter's robe between his fingers. "I'm sorry, I didn't know where else to go..."

"Coming here was the right thing to do," Peter said firmly. 

"I always seem to end up here when I'm in trouble," Neal said. "At least this time I can't drag you into my trouble with me."

"Next time, bring pajamas," El said. The kettle screamed and she went back into the kitchen, leaving Peter and Neal on the couch together. 

Carefully, Peter put an arm around Neal's shoulders. "I don't know the last time I saw you this shaken."

"The last time I was this shaken, it was because you were the one I made angry," Neal admitted, and leaned into Peter just a little bit. "I made sure you _didn't_ see how shaken I was."

"Mm." Peter wasn't sure which time he was referring to— Neal had made him angry enough to yell on a couple of occasions recently.

El came back with a big mug of chamomile tea that Neal held in both hands and breathed over, long and slightly shaky breaths. "Let's get you warmed up," she said, and sat back down to cuddle up on his other side, bracketing him in Burkes while he slowly sipped the tea. 

"...I'm sorry, it's so late," Neal said after a long moment of silence. "You don't have to sit up with me. I'll be fine down here if you want to go to bed."

"I don't think so," Peter said.

"You're not sleeping on our couch," El said.

"We'll go to bed when you're ready to come to bed with us," Peter added. 

Neal choked on his tea and quickly put the mug down on the coffee table as he coughed. "I'm... what?"

"You're coming upstairs with us," Peter said. "Putting you in between us is the only way I'm going to feel comfortable with you sleeping in our house."

"I don't know if that's an expression of distrust or affection," Neal said, trying to make a joke of what had clearly touched him.

"Oh, Neal, you know nothing is only one thing," El said, and put her hand on his knee. "But if you let us show you affection, we've got a lot less call to feel distrust."

"I'm absolutely not complaining," Neal said quickly. "If you're going to... going to let me into your bed..."

"Between us is the only fair place to put you," Peter said, "and we've thought about putting you there before tonight."

Neal licked his lips quickly, picked up the mug, drained it, and held it between both hands. "I'm ready when you are," he said, and found himself smooched on both cheeks before the Burkes stood up and pulled him to his feet.

"Come on, then," El said, leading the way upstairs to more warmth and safety and comfort than Neal had ever experienced before.


End file.
